Late Thursday, while unconfirmed reports spread regarding the Brown University gunman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins used social media, highlighting the uncertainty and guiding the public to her network’s 9pm newscast.
While it is by no means a perfect news source, her statement resonated to many. It stands as one of the organizations where there exists grounded and generally reliable reporting – notably during breaking news situations such as the one taking place in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.
An Uncertain State During a Corporate Tug-of-War
Yet CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a precarious state as two massive media empires vie for ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.
Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has become part of a high-stakes game of corporate ownership, rather than as a question of what benefits the news-consuming public.
“Here is one more case of the deep structural problems with roots in decades of regulatory actions,” stated Victor Pickard, author of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a media policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conjecture about which company will control Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – misses a broader point.
“It gets presented as a corporate drama with key players as the protagonists, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard added.
The Additional Factor: Donald Trump
This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s opinions about a network he has long portrayed as perhaps his chief “fake news” adversary.
Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies, his administration’s punitive withdrawal of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his sparring with Collins in White House briefings.
Trump now asserts that the network requires new ownership. Many see this as a desire for ownership that will shield him from negative coverage and examination. That is a factor in why he seems to come down on the side of Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.
Trump has reason to prefer that company more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the ally of Trump Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount, owner of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, famous for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that historic news network.
A Possibility of More Turmoil
Significantly, if Netflix is successful, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a independent unit. This might be a relief to many at the network, but it’s hardly a safe harbor. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. There is no finish line.
If you ask Timothy Wu, a lot of this is illegal, anyway. The influential voice of big tech’s dominance wrote recently that anti-trust laws should disallow both deals.
“Both acquisition attempts would be detrimental to the country, and both should be opposed by anti-trust authorities,” Wu argued.
The Fundamental Issue and a Path Forward
No matter the outcome in this situation, the bigger problem persists.
“Our current system is a profoundly system hostile to democracy, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard noted. Policy decisions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to build this overly commercial monster, and revised policy decisions can address it.
Will that happen in an era where the head of the FCC will not confirm that the agency is independent? Overhaul is highly improbable now, but that should not imply it will be impossible forever.
Initiatives that support independent news organizations, aid local journalism, finance public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are essential for a robust democracy.
When it comes to media ownership, bigger isn’t better. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pawns in the most recent corporate chess match.
